Security
by SuperMegaFoxyAwesomeHot
Summary: anon prompted: Kurt used to sleep with a stuffed animal but when he moved to Dalton he didn't bring it with him because he thought it was lame. But when the anxiety of new beginnings is too much, he doesn't have his little friend to comfort him. Cue roommate!Blaine asking him why he can't sleep or finds him sniffling during the night and Kurt confesses his secret, fluff galore!


**There needs to be more stuffed animal!Klaine in this world.**

* * *

Kurt surveyed his room one last time, making sure everything he needed for school was packed up already.

"Phone charger...posters...photos…," Kurt said, pointing at the now-empty spots where each of those things used to live. "I think that's everything."

"What about Bear?" Burt's voice asked from the doorway, making Kurt jump.

"Dad," Kurt said firmly. "Bear is not coming to Dalton with me. I need to maintain _some_ kind of dignity."

"But I'll miss you, KK," Burt said in "Bear's" voice, walking over to the bed and waving Bear's (short for Barold - Kurt wasn't great at names when he was three) worn arms forlornly.

" _Dad_ ," Kurt repeated, snatching Bear away huffily. He cradled the toy against his chest, feeling a little too petulant for his liking, before continuing, "Dalton's a prestigious place. I don't wanna be known as the guy who needs his ratty stuffed bear to fall asleep at night." _Especially not to Blaine_ , he finished mentally. _I've got to be really impressive now that we'll be living together._

"I get it," Burt said, all teasing gone. "Can't say I like it, because it makes me feel old, but I get it."

"Good," Kurt said. "Now c'mon, I want to have a little wiggle room in case traffic is bad!"

He made to head out of the room until his father's pointed cough and look stopped him.

"What?"

"Whatcha holding?"

"Oh," Kurt said, realizing he was still carrying Barold. "Right."

He kissed the bear's tan head one last time before gently placing him in the center of his bed, propped up against one of the throw pillows.

" _Now_ we can go," Kurt said, successfully exiting his room.

Burt's footsteps behind him were the only thing that kept him from darting back into the house and grabbing Bear once they got to the car and a minor sense of panic settled into his stomach.

* * *

The first night he stayed at Dalton, Kurt managed to go to sleep without an issue, since he was worn out from moving in and getting his tour of campus.

The second night, however, did not go quite as well.

 _I hate this_ , Kurt thought. He bit his lip ferociously to keep from whimpering out loud, not wanting to alert Blaine to his distress. _No amount of dignity is worth how I feel right now._

He rolled over and tried to plump his pillow a little, searching for something, anything to distract him from the repetitive wave of anxiety that overtook him whenever he wasn't fully occupied.

 _Tomorrow will be fine_ , he tried to reassure himself. _You won't be kicked out for not being at the same place in the curriculum as everyone else, you won't fall down the staircase and make a fool out of yourself, and you_ will _have people to sit with at lunch - Blaine invited you to eat with the Warblers, remember?_

Kurt's pep talk wasn't strong enough to make him feel better, though, and he finally ended up letting out a brief, choked sob.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, voice a little fuzzy with sleep. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Kurt said, making his voice as normal as possible. "Just fine."

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked, flicking on his bedside lamp. "Because I've heard you rolling around and breathing weird for the last couple hours."

"Oh God, have I been bothering you?" Kurt asked, more worried than before. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually this restless."

"It's fine, Kurt," Blaine said soothingly, shooting him a gentle smile from across the tiny room. "I was playing on my phone for most of it, and I'm a fairly light sleeper until I hit my REM cycle anyways, so any ambient noise would've kept me up. I'm more concerned about what's got you so antsy."

"You promise not to judge?" Kurt whispered. He wasn't looking forward to telling Blaine the truth, but he figured he may as well be honest with this boy, the first person to see how much he was hurting and actually want to do something about it.

"I would never," Blaine said, eyes shining with sincerity even in the somewhat dim lighting. "You can trust me, Kurt. At least, I hope you can."

"I know," Kurt said simply. He took a deep breath before admitting, "I miss my Bear."

"Your bear?" Blaine repeated, confused.

"My stuffed animal, Bear," Kurt clarified, realizing that Blaine's awareness of LGBTQ+ slang might lead him to an inaccurate conclusion. "I left him at home because I thought it'd be kind of lame to bring him to boarding school, but now I'm nervous and homesick and I just can't sleep without him here." His voice cracked as he finished his sentence, his emotions finally getting the better of him.

"Oh, Kurt," Blaine said, hushed and sympathetic. "It's not weird, I promise. Tons of the guys on this floor have stuffed animals or scraps of their baby blankets hidden under their pillows."

"Really?" Kurt asked, comforted by the thought.

"Really," Blaine said, smiling over at him. "I don't, but I never really had a stuffed animal I favored as a kid. I understand the longing behind it, though - if my keyboard were a little less bulky, I'd probably cuddle up to it on nights when I was feeling down."

Kurt snorted.

Blaine was silent for a moment before saying, "Would it help - and say no if it really wouldn't, don't be afraid of hurting my feelings or something - but would it help if we shared a bed? We don't even have to touch if you don't want, there's just enough space for us to have room, but I figure - you know, you're in need of contact, and I'm really all that's available, unless this is an RA duty I don't know about."

"I may have only been here for two days, but I already know I'd rather chew off an arm than climb into Kevin's bed," Kurt said, trying not to gag at the idea. "But if you're offering - and you really, truly don't mind - sure. Let's be bed buddies tonight."

"I swear it's alright," Blaine said. He scooted closer to the wall, tossing the corner of his covers back for Kurt, who had to take a moment to steady his breathing before walking over to Blaine's bed. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Kurt replied, curled up on his side and facing the floor between their beds. Blaine wasn't actually touching him, but he was close enough that Kurt could feel Blaine's body heat radiating toward him. "Um - good night?"

"Sweet dreams," Blaine said through a yawn. He was breathing steadily before Kurt managed to fall asleep, but the warmth and serenity of the setting slowly lulled him into unconsciousness as well.

 _I could get used to this_ , Kurt thought hazily, his last coherent thought before sleep overpowered him. When he woke up, he discovered that he'd ended up using Blaine's shoulder as a pillow at some point in the night, with his face buried in the juncture between Blaine's neck and collarbone.

"Mmm, good morning," Blaine said groggily, pressing a kiss to Kurt's hair. Kurt preened and snuggled closer before they both froze simultaneously as they realized what was happening.

"I didn't - I swear this wasn't an elaborate mechanism to hit on you," Blaine stammered.

"Back at you," Kurt said, feeling himself blush tomato red. He swallowed heavily, remembering Blaine's go-to advice - _courage_ \- before saying, "But I liked it anyway."

"Really?" Blaine asked, looking awed.

"Really," Kurt confirmed. "If it were to happen again, well…."

Blaine took that moment to tilt Kurt's head up and kiss him softly on the mouth.

"Well?" Blaine said once they broke apart, eyes sparkling.

"Then I might have to ask what your intentions are with me," Kurt said, playing coy.

"Dinner tonight? We can get our food at the dining hall, but I'd like to take you to my favorite spot on campus to eat," Blaine said. "I'm not looking for a fling or friends-with-benefits situation, Kurt. I'd like to give something more serious a shot."

"You had me at dinner," Kurt teased, leaning in for one last kiss. "Fair warning, though: we might have to open our bed to a third man once I go home and bring Bear back."

"I'll try not to get too jealous," Blaine replied.

"I don't think you'll have much to worry about," Kurt said.

(Sure enough, Blaine didn't have to worry about Bear stealing Kurt's affections. Kurt, on the other hand, almost had to physically fight Blaine over who got to snuggle Bear more often - it turned out that Blaine just needed the _right_ stuffed animal to favor.)


End file.
